GWI and GPL can bring down a Government

Oct 06, 2019 Letters

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Dear Editor,

For decades, since our Independence in 1966 to now, Guyana has been suffering from inadequate potable water and reliable electricity.

We know electricity has been taken to certain areas in Guyana that never had electricity over the last decade, and even more so through solar power and the REDD Initiatives from the Norway Funds, where large part of the money has been used to solar power the far-flung interior areas – providing internet access, electricity for refrigerator and water pumps – whereby bringing relief to the lives of the people. The same with water, water has been found and wells built in far-flung areas where people were not having potable water from time immemorial, and this has been happening more so over the last 20 years to now.

I must give also credit to the current Government for pushing the water projects into the far-flung interior areas, along with electricity, but I am extremely depressed and annoyed over certain behavior of the Guyana Water Inc. I must concede again, that to my opinion, the management of the GWI has improved drastically; however, they seem to be some very serious complication and confusion i.e. something negative and new is starting. And I am wondering if I would have to make an official complaint for investigation of the GWI, whereby as soon as the bill is delivered and not paid within its respective time – for reasons such as, some people out of the country, some people out in far-flung areas, the house might have been closed for a long period of time – and the next thing you know, they do not only cut the water, but remove the entire installation and then they have the audacity to charge you $22,000 to replace the entire meter. All of which causes tremendous havoc, confusion and pain on the consumer.
Personally, this writer has experienced it recently at two of the buildings I manage. It was quite surprising that when you have not paid the water in a period when the bill might be due, and the bills might not have been delivered, the GWI expect you to remember to go in and pay, or they cut the water and remove the meter. Can you believe this? In Guyana, poor people and people of business and enterprise – because some staff might have made a mistake and not paid the bill and no one from GWI calls, or show some interest to notify customers – but all they do is remove the water meter and they expect 10s of thousands of dollars for a replacement of a water meter, thereby affecting industry, business, inconvenience to people, their families, children, etc. It is as if GWI is beginning to lose its humanity and sanity.
I personally believe that the pains of the GWI and GPL on the people can seriously affect the Government of the day returning to power. I recall, just before the 2015 elections – even though a former PPP/C Minister was the CEO there – they were not sharp enough or smart enough to realize that there was a group in conspiracy, obviously to my view and opinion after my reflections, that they wanted the PPP/C Government to lose power, and so they went just before the elections on a mass disconnection campaign, disconnecting people when people could have been issued a warning. This was done to thousands of people as far as I know, or even if we say it was just a few hundreds, still 1 vote could cause a Government to win an election or lose an election. One vote, as we saw in Region 8, during the last election when there was a controversy over 1 vote. So don’t say that a few hundred disconnections cannot affect the government. And don’t say the constant black out that the Guyanese people are facing form GPL cannot affect the government. It is incessant and insane!

I must give credit to the government now, after many writings by the undersigned and by many people approaching the government to purchase private power. We have seen a man; Mr. Sugrim Singh aka Chinee, established a windmill in the Corentyne area and he cannot even get permission to operate it (Hahaha, I am laughing). And they cannot supply reliable electricity in the Corentyne and is he is producing a tremendous amount of excess electrical power which could be bought and transferred to the grid, but our laws created by the colonial masters will not allow the purchase of that power. We saw Giftland Mall, by the indomitable, indestructible Royston Beepat, producing excess power, and since long before they commenced the Giftland Mall, they approached the government to purchase the power and he was refused. Now they are trying to change the law, not because they love local industries to my opinion, or it appears, but simply because they cannot do better so they are trying to change the law consequently to accommodate it. In other words it’s a state of desperation. As a Guyanese citizen, I see absolutely nothing wrong in making a pronouncement by government, by a special communiqué with the leader of the opposition for the understanding to purchase power from our citizens, as an emergency measure. Well, I would say better late than never, I repeat better late than never, so I would like to compliment the government of the day for moving in that direction.

I am advising the Government of the day, as it pertains to GWI, to quickly move into GWI. The respective Minister needs to seriously have a meeting and ask where this idea is coming from, where they are taking away people’s meter if a bill is not paid.
If the government really wishes to take back power, then they need to seriously look into these matters and must also understand that these things are causing great misery on people, especially the poor and people in general.

Sincerely,

Hajji Dr. Roshan Khan Snr.

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